b.Differences
by region: Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox; Disciples of Christ north and
south.

c.Acknowledging
the great varieties of sub-traditions and local variants saves us from
overgeneralization, such as in the theory of a “clash of
civilizations.”

II.Defining Religion

III.Seven Dimensions of Religions

1.The Practical and Ritual Dimension: what the adherents of a religion do as part of that
religion

a.Prayer:
private and solitary moments of quiet reflection on God; noisy, group singing
and chanting; fully prostrate, while prayer is conducted by a priest; kneeling
down, reciting memorized prayers bowing down repeatedly in direction of Mecca,
chanting from the Holy Qur'an

d.Modes
of dress: Muslim women and the purdah; Muslim man who
dies his beard red after pilgrimage to Mecca; novitiate in a monastic order
shaves head (tonsure)

e.Pilgrimage:
to Mecca to circle round the shrine
(Ka'bah), kiss the stone; holy temples in the Himalayas

f.Ritual: prescribed patterned action in a religious tradition.

i.Sacrifice:
ritual death in which a sacrificial victim is offered to god as part of a
reciprocal relationship between god and human beings. Aboriginal: life force
of victim released. Aztec human sacrifice; Hindu - buffalo sacrifice;
Hebrew bible - Abraham and Isaac. Christian: Death of Christ, sacrificial lamb,
commemoration in communion

ii.Initiation
into religious community (often synonymous with adulthood): Sacred
thread: presented to guru receive instruction; circumcision in Aboriginal
tribes: ritual killing, resurrection of the
victim into a new existence; Bar mitzvah: 13 yr boy reads from Torah and
becomes a member of the congregation.

iii.Transition
and Transformation

1.Rites
of Passage – mark or bring about change of social position and status,
change in physical or spiritual being of initiate; change of life phase
(life-cycle rites: birth, puberty, marriage, death). Example: Death rite
in Hinduism: pyre, son recites prayer to fire, burns, strikes head

2.Seasonal,
calendrical rites: harvest; rains; birth and death

2.The Experiential and Emotional Dimension: subjective, emotional side of
religion. What goes on inside the person.

a.Basis
of religious vitality and human significance, central to ongoing individual
religiosity, to the founding of a tradition itself

ii.The
very core of religion is experience and emotion – all else revolves
around experience

iii.William
James (Varieties of Religious Experience):
James’ definition of religion = "…[based in] the feelings, acts,
and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend
themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine."

a.What we learn from stories is different from what we learn from systematic
thought and concepts. Narratives convey their own types of meaning and
information. Cannot reduce the essence of a story to a group of statements

b.Narratives
are an important part of all religions of the world.

c.Narratives
are retained, shared, and changed in different ways: Oral/written

iii.How
people build their homes and communities can reflect their religious worldview:
Navajo village: map of the cosmos. Shrines, dwellings are organized according
to four cardinal directions, points where spirit connects to the world of the
living